The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and method for outputting to-be-copied images, which are employed in, for example, an office automation apparatus such as a copy machine, and can copy a plurality of documents onto one side or both sides of a paper sheet.
In conventional image forming apparatuses, document orientation detection is executed for each document.
Specifically, the length/width of each document is no detected, and the detection result is used for automatic selection of paper sheets. However, so-called 2-in-1 printing in which both side data is copied onto one side, it is possible that the top and bottom of a document will be opposite, depending upon the orientation of the document set on a document table.
For example, think about a double-sided document of A4 size, portrait-oriented, with horizontal writing, which is supposed to be bound lengthwise. In this case, if the document is placed in the A4 direction, the top/reverse sides of the document are arranged in left and right portions of a paper sheet, with the tops and bottoms of the top/reverse sides kept in the same direction. However, if the document is placed in the A4-R direction, the tops and bottom of the top/reverse sides of the document arranged in left and right portions of a paper sheet are opposite.
Further, think about a double-sided document of A4 size, landscape-oriented, with horizontal writing, which is supposed to be bound widthwise. In this case, if, the document is placed in the A4-R direction, the tops and bottoms of the top/reverse sides of the document arranged in left and right portions of a paper sheet are in the same direction. However, if the document is placed in the A4 direction, the tops and bottoms of the top/reverse sides of the document arranged in left and right portions of a paper sheet are opposite.
Furthermore, to which side of a paper sheet each of the top and reverse sides of a document corresponds depends upon whether the document contains vertical writing or horizontal writing. It is troublesome for the user to execute such settings. In light of this, techniques of extracting and recognizing a character written in a document, thereby determining the top and bottom of the document and automatically aligning them have been proposed. Thus, various methods for determining the top and bottom of a document using a character recognition function are known. In these methods, however, character recognition is executed each time a document is input.
Character recognition requires a lot of time. Therefore, if character recognition is executed on each document, the copying performance is inevitably significantly degraded.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 6-103411 proposes a technique of detecting the angle of rotation if a document is input at an angle with respect to a predetermined direction set in a scanner, thereby modifying an input image into a correct direction and then reading it. However, also in this technique, character recognition is executed each time a document is input.
The present invention has been developed in light of the aforementioned problem, and aims to prevent degradation of copying performance by a technique of executing character recognition on only the first one of documents used by the user on the assumption that it is very possible that the tops and bottoms of the documents are aligned, thereby determining, on the basis of the character recognition result concerning the first document, a rotation/arrangement method for inputting the documents, and processing the second et seq. documents, without character recognition but using the method determined when processing the first document.
To satisfy the aim, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for reading images of documents that are defined by a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction, and copying the images onto an image forming medium, comprising: conveyance means for conveying a document; reading means for reading an image of the document to obtain image data; determining means for determining whether or not the conveyed document should be copied first, and also determining, on the basis of the determination result, whether or not an orientation of the document should be detected; document orientation detecting means for extracting character data from the image data, recognizing the character data, and detecting the orientation of the document on the basis of the recognition result, if the determining means determines that the orientation of the document should be detected; image data rotation process means for executing a rotation process on the image data obtained by the reading means, on the basis of the detection result of the document orientation detecting means; and image forming means for reading the image data subjected to the rotation process by the image data rotation process means, thereby forming an image onto the image forming medium.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for reading images of documents that are defined by a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction, and copying the images onto image forming medium, comprising: a conveyance section configured to convey a document; a scanner section configured to read an image of the document and obtain image data; a control section configured to determine whether or not the conveyed document should be copied onto a first page of the image forming medium, and to determine that an orientation of the document should be detected by a document orientation detecting section, only if the document is determined to be copied onto the first page of the image forming medium; a document orientation detecting section configured to extract character data from the image data, recognize the character data, and detect the orientation of the document on the basis of the recognition result, if the determining section determines that the orientation of the document should be detected; a page memory control section configured to execute a rotation process on the image data obtained by the scanner section, on the basis of the detection result of the document orientation detecting section; and a printer section configured to read the image data subjected to the rotation process, thereby forming an image onto the image forming medium.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming method of reading images of documents that are defined by a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction, and copying the images onto an image forming medium, comprising: a first step of conveying a document; a second step of reading an image of the document to obtain image data; a third step of determining whether or not the conveyed document should be copied first, and also determining, on the basis of the determination result, whether or not an orientation of the document should be detected; a fourth step of extracting character data from the image data, recognizing the character data, and detecting the orientation of the document on the basis of the recognition result, if it is determined that the orientation of the document should be detected; a fifth step of executing a rotation process on the image data obtained by the reading means, on the basis of the detection result; and a sixth step of reading the image data subjected to the rotation process, thereby forming an image onto the image forming medium.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming method of reading images of documents that are defined by a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction, and copying the images onto image forming medium, comprising: a first step of conveying a document using a conveyance section; a second step of reading an image of the document and obtaining image data, using a scanner section; a third step of determining, using a control section, whether or not the conveyed document should be copied onto a first page of the image forming medium, and determining that an orientation of the document should be detected by a document orientation detecting section, only if the document is determined to be copied onto the first page of the image forming medium; a fourth step of extracting character data from the image data, recognizing the character data, and detecting the orientation of the document on the basis of the recognition result, using the document orientation detecting section, if the determining section determines that the orientation of the document should be detected; a fifth step of executing, using a page memory control section, a rotation process on the image data obtained by the scanner section, on the basis of the detection result of the document orientation detecting section; and a sixth step of reading the image data subjected to the rotation process, and forming an image onto the image forming medium, using a printer section.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.